My book project, titled From Politics to the Pews, challenges the widespread assumption in American politics that core social identities shape politics but are, themselves, largely impervious to political influence. I do this by looking at religion, a social identity whose political relevance is routinely discussed in both academic and non-academic circles. My book demonstrates that individuals' partisan identities profoundly shape their engagement in the religious sphere. I refute the claim that America's current polarization is solely the product of religious sorting into the political parties, with seculars supporting the Democrats and the devout joining the Republican ranks. Instead, I show that partisans also help produce this religious-political polarization, as Democrats select out of organized religion and Republicans select into it. A more detailed description of my book project is available here. The book is forthcoming at the University of Chicago Press.

My second main research project focuses on how different identities operate simultaneously to produce observed political attitudes and behaviors. While researchers recognize that individuals hold many different identities, some of which are more salient than others, scholars frequently address the political consequences of one identity in isolation from others. Considering multiple identities at once, which are sometimes at odds with each other, offers a more complete picture of how individuals make political decisions. In particular, white evangelical Christians represent an unexploited opportunity to examine how multiple identities interact politically. Although evangelical Christians make up about 20 percent of the American population and represent a reliable Republican constituency, scholars know surprisingly little about this group. Instead, many paint this large and diverse group with a single brush, speaking of group members in monolithic terms and assuming that shared religious identities explain all of their political behaviors. The aim of this research, which represents my next book-length project, is to 1) identify politically relevant descriptive differences among white evangelicals, 2) explain how, when, and why evangelicals’ religious identities matter for politics, and 3) explore how evangelicals’ religious identities operate in conjunction with other social group memberships.A more detailed description of this project is available here.

"How Far Does Social Group Influence Reach? Elites, Evangelicals, and Immigration Attitudes." Forthcoming. The Journal of Politics. PDF available here. Media Coverage: The Christian Post, September 5, 2014.

"Separating the Shirkers from the Workers? Making Sure Respondents Pay Attention on Self-Administered Surveys." (with Adam J. Berinsky and Michael W. Sances). 2014. The American Journal of Political Science, 58(3): 739-53. PDF available here.